Andrea Weckerle has fulfilled a long-time ambition by establishing CiviliNation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to "foster an online culture where every person can freely participate in a democratic, open, rational and truth-based exchange of ideas and information, without fear or threat of being the target of unwarranted abuse, harassment, or lies."

In this FIR Interview, co-host Shel Holtz discusses with Weckerle the organization’s origins, its goals and how Weckerle hopes CiviliNation can make a difference.

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About our Conversation Partner

Andrea Weckerle is an attorney licensed to practice law in Washington D.C. and New Jersey. She earned her Juris Doctor at T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond, where she also served on the Senior Staff of the Richmond Journal of Law & Technology, the first exclusively online, student-edited law journal in the U.S. In addition to her law degree, she underwent extensive mediation training, earning certificates in Commercial Mediation, Conflict Resolution Processes, and Healthcare Mediation. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communications/Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University.

After law school, Andrea worked within the Legal Management Services division of an international professional services firm, where she helped design, develop and implement comprehensive alternative dispute resolution systems for Fortune 500 companies. During her tenure at the firm, she also served on the international team of a high-profile, politically sensitive investigatory review of World War II-era banking records for two international financial institutions and a U.S. state regulatory agency. Prior to founding CiviliNation, she ran her own boutique communications consultancy and worked with nationally-recognized agencies, where her experience included legal and corporate communications, as well as online communications and social media.

Andrea lived in Pakistan, Madagascar, Germany and the United States while growing up and now resides in the United States. She is bilingual in English and German.

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This FIR Interview is brought to you with Lawrence Ragan Communications, serving communicators worldwide for 35 years. Information: www.ragan.com.

Podsafe music – On A Podcast Instrumental Mix (MP3, 5Mb) by Cruisebox.

(Cross-posted from For Immediate Release, Shel’s and my podcast blog.)